David Ely

Time Warner Views Netflix as a Fading Star

I’ve written before about how the concept of purchasing movies is in a funny place right now. My view has always been that, if you imagine what watching a movie will be like in the future, it’s obvious that you’ll be able to bring up a list of any movie ever made and watch it on demand. Getting there is taking a while, but Netflix seems to be the clear frontrunner.

Except that, according to The New York Times, Netflix could be headed for trouble. The first of its big stream deals is set to expire soon, and the movie studios have wised up some. They know that people are buying fewer movies than they were a few years ago. I’m not sure I bought one DVD last year. Partly that’s before I already own most of the movies I want, but partly it is because I know if I want something I can get it from Netflix, either instantly or in a few days’ time. Netflix just raised its prices, and I’m sure it’s doing okay financially, but I expect that the TImes article is right and there are going to be some serious contract battles soon.